LeBron “Bronny” James, the son of billionaire NBA legend LeBron James, will return to the basketball court at the University of Southern California, after being cleared by doctors Thursday to play again following a sudden cardiac arrest earlier this year.
In June, the son of basketball great LeBron James experienced cardiac arrest while practicing.
James, 19, was cleared by his doctors for “full return” to basketball, the James family said in a statement shared with Athletic reporter Shams Charania.
The University of Southern California freshman still needs a final evaluation with the staff at USC before he can return to practice next week, the family said.
The family said James would return to games “soon after” but did not specify when.
In July, James collapsed after suffering from cardiac arrest during a USC basketball practice. Medical personnel and athletic staff responded to the incident and he was taken to an intensive care unit of a local hospital. Days later when James was released from the hospital, Merije Chukumerije, a cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said in a statement that James was “fully conscious, neurologically intact and stable” when he arrived at the hospital. A spokesperson for the family later said James’ cardiac arrest was the result of a congenital heart defect that won’t keep him from basketball and can be treated.
James isn’t the only high-profile athlete to collapse from cardiac arrest in the past year. In January, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during a nationally televised game and went into cardiac arrest. Medical staff used a defibrillator to resuscitate Hamlin from what medical professionals believe was commotio cordis, a medical condition caused by a sudden hit to the chest.
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